Enhancing Conceptual Understanding With Concept Maps and Concept Questions

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Enhancing Conceptual Understanding With Concept
Maps and Concept Questions

• David L. Darmofal,
• Diane H. Soderholm,
• Doris R. Brodeur
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• presented at
• CDIO Wallenberg Meeting June 11, 2002
• ASEE Annual Conference June 17, 2002

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Concept Maps(Mintzes, Wandersee, Novak, 1998
Zeilik, 2000)

• Two-dimensional, hierarchical diagrams that show
  the structure of knowledge within a discipline
• Composed of concept labels, each enclosed in a
  box or oval, a series of labeled linking lines
  and general-to-specific organization.

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Concept Maps in Aero/Astro

• Planned key uses in Unified Engineering
• To help faculty organize ideas in preparation for
  instruction of the 5-discipline, team-taught
  course
• To facilitate sharing of ideas in the
  collaborative course team of faculty and teaching
  assistants
• For possible use as graphic organizers in class
  to help students understand key concepts and
  cross-disciplinary links

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Concept Map Creation

• Faculty-TA teams created single-discipline maps
  with Post-it Notes and flipchart paper during a
  few weekly course-team meetings
• Map creation was bumped off agenda often due to
  pressing course issues - maps are still in draft
  form
• Faculty interest waned as the semester went on
• Creating the maps took time

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Concept Map(Early draft of a concept map for
dynamics)
includes
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Concept Map(Early draft of a concept map for
signals and systems)
Need to know in order to understand
Linear Systems
Superposition
Useful for application to
Circuit Analysis
Circuit Elements
Kirchoffs Laws
Subset of
Methods of performing circuit analysis
R Networks
Thevinin Norton Equivalent Networks
Loop Method
Energy Storage
Node Method
Fundamental to
Types of
Inductors
State Space
Sets up knowledge for understanding
Capacitators
Better way to analyze
Are less complex than
Impedance Methods
RLC Circuits
Another way to analyze
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Concept Map(Early draft of a concept map for
thermodynamics)
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Concept Map Sharing

• Draft maps were shared during a late-term meeting
• Faculty agreed it helped to see all maps together
  at one time, helped to know what colleagues were
  teaching, though no big surprises in concepts
  taught
• A few cross-disciplinary links were identified
  -superposition, modeling, conservation laws
• One important link among all disciplines was
  missing from each map-mathematics
• Faculty believed showing the maps to students
  might help them understand concepts links

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Concept Maps Next Steps

• Will try creating maps again
• with the new team of Unified Engineering faculty
• over summer to increase faculty time available
• starting from existing draft maps to reduce time
• Include mathematical concepts in each map
• Aim to hand out to students near beginning of
  term so students can modify them/add their own
  notes
• Faculty will be encouraged to refer to maps in
  class to point out concept relationships
  cross-disciplinary links
• Students will be encouraged to point out links as
  they come up in class/problem sets/projects/labs